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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Completed and freshly washed, Ruby Paisley is beautiful, vibrant and yet soft to touch. The extra hand quilting was just what it needed and I love how the quilting looks on the dark grey, truly a reversible quilt. In fact I am tempted to make another almost identical but maybe with the whole 'back' in the dark grey. I really do enjoy the process of decorative hand quilting and this whole cloth quilt is the perfect backdrop for hand quilting.I have listed it in my Esty shop, yet I know of at least one friend who would be happy to call it their own if it's not snapped up before her birthday..... Best get started on another in these gorgeous organic fabrics!Update- July *This quilt has been gifted to my friend for her birthday - she loves it!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

I thought this organic quilt was nearly finished as I stitched the binding by hand - but then I realised some more hand quilting would be wise, both for the the visual effect and to add to the stability of the quilt. I didn't have enough silk in the right grey so I have been using some 12wt cotton which I had on hand. As much as I really do like using 12wt cotton for decorative quilting I much prefer to use buttonhole silk in most instances.

The silk, in this case Gutermann's R 753 buttonhole twist silk, is stronger, smoother, has a higher sheen and retains it's lustre much better as you continue stitching with each length of thread than cotton does. Yes, I DO love to stitch with silk......

I recently purchased two large reels of Gutermann silk, one in black and one in white, from Bay Tailor Supply in the US. I'm very much tempted to order some more reels/cobs of silk in gorgeous right bcolours, but which ones to choose?

This delightful 100% organic Plus small baby quilt from last week is now completed and in my Etsy shop - another satisfying finish. The front is made of Cloud 9's Cirrus solids in Limestone and Rain. The backing is Cloud 9's Arcadia, Flutterflies in Aqua. Scanfil organic threads used throughout. Miss E (6) bravely held this quilt for photos - more of which you can see in the Etsy listing.

There are six layers in total - the mix of flavours and textures is excellent. It certainly is very rich, somewhat expensive and very time consuming to make. Miss E and Miss C joked with each other about impressing young gentlemen with such a cake one day.

We had the privilege of Mark Hemans visiting our church again this weekend. His teachings and ministry are very refreshing and encouraging. Last night Mark was sharing about how faith focusses on Jesus, the Word of God. Faith sees Jesus and the answer. Satan wants us to focus on the problem. Jesus never focussed on the problem, he focussed on the Father. Mark shared wonderful pearls of wisdom, riches for the soul, and prayed for many.

Today, January 26th, is Australia Day, the day we remember the arrival of the first fleet of convicts/settlers in 1788. Part of today's local celebrations included a Mayor's cricket game. Our twins played (against each other) in the juniors' warm up game on this hot and humid Monday. A very Australian way to commemorate this day and honour our British heritage.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Gracie is back, sweet music and song fill the air as I type. Both Grace (far left) and Miss N (far right) returned yesterday from the Women's Under 18's Cricket National Championships. They each enjoyed their time, playing in different state sides but I think their most exciting news was that they bumped into Virat Kohli (India's test Cricket Captain) while between flights in Sydney airport yesterday - and they had the photo to prove it! Grace's team members straightened her hair the night before - again. Both were very pleased to be home, and we are delighted to have everyone safely together again.

A day trip brought new sights and adventure to some of our other children and Miss E's guest yesterday, Master J being the driver and photographer.

A long awaited parcel arrived this morning with organic cotton goodies, including this Scanfil organic thread which I have been waiting on to sew the binding for the Plus quilt I started last week. I have plans for later today.....

While I was waiting for the thread above to arrive I began another organic cotton quilt and I really love how it's turning out with a mix of Sulky variegated thread machine quilting and hand quilting with some of my favourite Gutermann buttonhole silk twist! Hoping to have both quilts completed by this time next week.

Other family news is that my husband has made a tentative return to work this week, and is doing reasonable well, even if he did fall asleep while standing at his computer yesterday.... bruising only his ego. His sight in one eye is at last good enough to read a little and other health issues are slowly resolving. It's been a long road.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Our first ever sunflowers (all two of them!) are in bloom - aren't they a spectacular flower! In fact they are in Miss E's colourful little garden. She planted the seeds herself and now they are taller than me! The collage below backtracks about three months when we surprised her with her own mini garden bed just after we set up our main beds. The middle photo is E patting down the sunflower seeds.

Above is the same view this afternoon.....Yep, it's mid summer. The climbing beans have finished and the cucumber vines have invaded everywhere way beyond their garden bed.

Found this Lebanese cucumber early today - the (biggest) one that got away, hiding under leaves.

The Lilly Pillies in our front yard have nearly finished fruiting while the next set of flowers (below) are beginning to grow. I'm enjoying snacking on a few of these tart natives - the easiest of seasonal, local foods.

I'm endeavouring the make the most of the last two weeks of our summer homeschool break, especially while it's too hot to enjoy gardening or much of anything outside except maybe the swimming pool! A baby sized soft organic Plus quilt, quite a pleasure to work in the cool while enjoying the air conditioning.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

There's something about this quilt which I find most restful. Maybe it's the colours and subtle prints or the minimalist look or maybe then again it's just the delicious softness under hand due to being lightly quilted. 'Northward Bound' is the name I've given this design which I created based on the traditional Flying Geese block.All the fabrics are produced by Cloud 9 and are 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. The quilt batting is Hobbs 100% organic cotton and most the thread is also organic cotton.The entire quilt is straight line quilted with the centre feature strip quilted at 1" intervals while the sections either side have an even softer feel being quilted at 2" intervals.I've been tempted to make another just the same but it's not easy to source all the same fabrics - and then there's the 1 to 2 week's wait and the shipping charges to bring fabric all the way to Australia.....but I sure do like this combination of fabrics.'Northward Bound' in Turquoise is listed in my Esty shop where you will find more details about it too.

A Little About Me

Hello, I'm Karen. Welcome to my blog! Here I share snippets from our life as a family of ten in rural Australia - everyday happenings, photography, gardening, homeschooling and my love of quilting.
I choose to find beauty, contentment and joy in my everyday life.
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